SMRTR Science & EngineeringJan 6, 2026Live Science

The moon has been secretly feasting on Earth's atmosphere for billions of years

SMRTR summary

For billions of years, the moon has been absorbing particles from Earth's atmosphere through a process researchers now understand differently than previously thought. New research reveals that Earth's magnetic field actually creates invisible highways that guide atmospheric ions toward the moon during full moon phases, contradicting the 20-year-old theory that such transfer only occurred before Earth developed its magnetosphere 3.7 billion years ago.

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